Los Alamitos city manager retires after one year

LOS ALAMITOS – The city manager announced her resignation this week – one year after she accepted the city's top post.

When she leaves March 1, Angie Avery will be one of more than a half-dozen city managers who have rotated in and out of City Hall in the past decade.

Avery said she was leaving to start a new chapter in her life. "I want to explore new things," she said Tuesday.

Avery took on the post following the departure of Jeff Stewart, who left for the same job in Bellflower in January 2012.

At the time, Avery was the Los Alamitos Parks and Recreation Department director, and she made $126,039 annually plus other payments, not including benefits, for a salary of $134,877, according to the California State Controller's Office website. When Avery took on the city manager's post, her salary was bumped to $170,000 annually, plus other payments, according to her contract posted on the city's website.

Avery said she took the job because she wanted to provide continuity following Stewart's departure, not to increase her salary before retiring from the California Public Employee Retirement System.

Before her one-year stint as city manager, Avery served for 32 years in parks and recreation departments, including in Long Beach, Downey and Los Alamitos, where for five years she was the head of the department.

She noted that she is the only management employee in Los Alamitos who pays her full 8 percent into her retirement – something agreed upon when she took on the city manager's job last year.

"I've been in this business for 32 years. You don't work in public service just for one goal, that being the pension," she said.

Residents and city officials speak highly of Avery.

"Angie is a phenomenal asset to the city – warm, caring and always available to the residents," local council watchdog J.M. Ivler said.

Councilwoman Gerri Graham-Mejia said: "She's a longtime employee who was extremely valued, and I'll be sad to see her time with Los Al be over."

The announcement was made after closed session Monday night. Mayor Warren Kusumoto said he and Councilman Dean Grose will form a council subcommittee to discuss how best to fill the post.

Avery said she is proud of her accomplishments in her six years in Los Alamitos.

"I had good relationships with the Joint Forces Training Base, the school district administration, businesses and members of the community at large," she said. "It's what I brought to this job. I'm proud of that. I've enjoyed every minute of it."